AURORA WATCH: Arctic sweethearts, look up. Earth is entering a solar wind stream and, according to NOAA, there is a 35% chance of high-latitude geomagnetic activity. Valentine's Day could end with a sweet display of Northern Lights: gallery. VENUS VALENTINE: The Goddess of Love is sending a message for Valentine's Day, and it's in Morse code: "Lately, Venus has been spectacular as our Evening Star," says astronomy professor Jimmy Westlake of Colorado Mountain College in Steamboat Springs, CO. "I took advantage of moonlight on the snow and used the light from Venus, the mythological Goddess of Love, to create this 'Venus Valentine' to the world. The 'dots' were 30-second exposures and the 'dashes' were 3-minute exposures," he explains. And now for the message: .. | | .-.. | --- | ...- | . | | -.-- | --- | ..- | I | | L | O | V | E | | Y | O | U | Happy Valentine's Day! COLLIDING SATELLITES: For the first time ever, two large satellites have collided in Earth orbit. It happened on Tuesday, Feb. 10th, when Kosmos 2251 crashed into Iridium 33 approximately 800 km over northern Siberia. Both satellites were completely destroyed. Click to view a 2.3 MB animation U.S. Strategic Command is tracking hundreds of satellite fragments. In the 48+ hours since the collision, the debris swarm has spread around both orbits. Experts characterize the distribution as a pair of "clumpy rings"; one ring traces the orbit of Iridium 33, the other traces the orbit of Kosmos 2251. This injection of debris substantially increases the population of space junk at altitudes near 800 km. Collisions are now more likely than ever. Fortunately, the International Space Station orbits Earth at a much lower altitude, 350 km, so it is in no immediate danger. The Hubble Space Telescope is not so safe at 610 km. In the days ahead, researchers will carefully study the make-up and dynamics of the debris cloud to estimate when bits will begin to drift down to lower altitudes. LISTEN UP: The US Air Force Space Surveillance Radar is monitoring the skies above Texas for echoes from satellite fragments. Try listening on Sunday, Feb. 15th between 4:18 and 4:28 pm CST (2218 - 2228 UT). That's when Kosmos 2251 would have passed over the radar intact had it not been shattered. UPDATE: A Valentine's Day overpass of possible Iridium 33 fragments produced this echo. Comet Lulin Photo Gallery [Comet Hunter Telescope] [NASA's story] [ephemeris] Explore the Sunspot Cycle |